Do Today's On-Demand Consumers Want Same-Day Delivery?

More than six in 10 internet users would pay for same-day delivery

The debate around whether or not same-day delivery is worth it continues to rage on, but that’s not stopping companies from entering the market or expanding their presence. For example, ride-sharing service Uber is piloting a same-day delivery service for retailers, and Amazon.com recently announced plans to roll out same-day delivery to Amazon Prime Now members in additional cities this year. However, according to recent research, same-day delivery offerings are still rare, despite consumer willingness to pay for the service.

November 2014 polling by Accenture found that while 64% of internet users said delivery speed was important—up from 57% the prior year—just 15% of retailers worldwide offered same-day delivery. Besides the fact that retailers were failing to fully meet consumer expectations, Accenture noted, they were also missing out on taking in extra cash. More than one-quarter of internet users were willing to pay $10 or more for same-day delivery for an item they urgently needed—and 22% would pay $20 or more to get their goods within 2 hours.

In a September 2014 study, PricewaterhouseCoopers asked US internet users which shipping/delivery options they would be willing to purchase (assuming there was free basic delivery offered). Fully 61% of respondents cited same-day delivery—the No. 1 response.

LoyaltyOne found similar results in September 2014. Nearly two-thirds of US internet users said they would pay an additional fee for same-day home delivery—21.5% said an additional fee was worth the convenience, while 44.1% said it depended on the circumstances.

In September 2014, BI Intelligence forecast that the value of merchandise delivered via same-day delivery in 20 US cities would rise 550% this year, from $100 million in 2014 to $620 million. By 2018, this was expected to reach a whopping $4.03 billion.